Mail Order Bride
by ii-Phoenix-ii
Summary: Unknown to him, Levi's thirty-four years of living a calm, routine-oriented— some might even call it boring—life was about to be disrupted by a mischievous but well-meaning hacker.


**Chapter 1:** **Order Mix-up**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

 **Summary:** Unknown to him, Levi's thirty-four years of living a calm, routine-oriented— some might even call it boring—life was about to be disrupted by a mischievous but well-meaning hacker. [Prompt: A mail order bride mix up.]

 _This was originally a prompt by_ **em** _, part of my collection of one-shots called 'Weaver.' I'd been debating whether or not to make it a separate story. And after some requests and new ideas flowing into my brain, I decided to go through with it._

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Levi was a creature of habit.

He woke up, got ready, ate breakfast, went to work, ate lunch, came home, cleaned, watched TV, hit the gym, ate dinner, and went to sleep. Rinse and repeat, Monday to Friday, 8am to 11pm. Saturdays he'd meet friends and eat out and Sunday dinners were at his cousin's house. Occasionally there was a birthday party or holiday and the like. Nothing he didn't expect or out of the ordinary.

His life was very predictable and monotonous and that suited him just fine. He had neither the ambition to take on a bigger work load for more money nor the need to find someone to share his life with. So far, casual dating had worked and if he ever felt a lasting loneliness creeping, a short drive to the animal shelter would fix that right up. Maybe a dog, or a bird? But first, he wanted to finish his current goal of saving up enough money to buy a small house.

Unknown to him, Levi's thirty-four years of living a calm, routine-oriented— some might even call it boring—life was about to be disrupted by a mischievous but well meaning hacker.

A knock at the door pulled his attention from the game. He checked his watch. _Huh, that was fast_. He could have sworn it was only five minutes ago he'd made the call. Placing the beer bottle on the table, he grabbed his wallet and went to open the door.

Instead of a bored looking pizza boy, he found himself staring down at a young woman nervously patting her dress. Relief shone in her eyes. "You are Levi, right? I'm so glad I found you."

Her grammar was perfect, but the way she enunciated her words spoke of a foreigner. "Yeah, do I know you?"

She seemed taken back. "My name is Petra Ral."

Levi didn't know why she expected him to suddenly have an 'ah-ha' moment and know who she was. "Okay...?"

Doubt began to creep into her expression. "You do not know who I am?"

"Sorry," he shrugged. "Maybe you're looking for another Levi?" It was a big city he lived in.

Petra pulled out papers from her bag. "This is not you?"

"No, this is all...right..." Nervousness began building up in his stomach. It was all his personal information. _What the fuck?_ His eyes were as wide as saucers when he finished scanning through the documents and finally got it. "You're a mail order bride?"

He'd expected her to be embarrassed or offended, instead, she said, "I am _your_ mail order bride."

According to all the official looking paperwork, it was true. He looked between the young woman and the documents in his hands. What the hell was going on? "I'm sorry but I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding," he cleared his throat. "I didn't, um, order a bride. I only ordered pizza. Ten minutes ago."

"But..." She was so lost. Her doe like eyes looked into his silver ones.

 _Why are you looking at me like that?_ Levi resisted the urge to fidget under her gaze. He finally noticed the luggage around her legs. He couldn't help but feel bad for her. Obviously there had to be some sort of mix-up. And she was stuck in a foreign country and didn't know anyone there. "Why don't you come in and call the company you...used? I'm sure they'll figure it out and send someone to pick you up and fix this."

If he wasn't her husband, he was a stranger, and Petra wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Then again, the alternative was the streets. She stepped inside his apartment and he grabbed her luggage. _He's very polite. And...clean._ _Surely he cannot be such a bad person?_

"The home phone's on the kitchen counter."

 _His voice is different than the one I heard on the phone_. At first, she'd thought it was because they'd talked only twice and on the phone. Petra bit her lip in worry and waited as the ringing continued. Finally she disconnected. "No one picked up."

 _I'm such an idiot._ Levi wanted to slap himself. "Oh, yeah, sorry. It's almost nine, they're probably closed for the night. You'll have to try tomorrow."

Petra placed the phone back on the charger and froze, unsure what to do now. Before an awkwardness could set it, a knock came from the door. Levi went to check, relieved for a few seconds break before he had to deal with the mess. Eren stood there, looking disinterested. "Here's your pepperoni pizza."

"Keep the change."

"Seriously? That's it? I'm gonna tell Mikasa you were being a stingy bastard."

"Shut up."

"Hey, who's that?" Eren cranked his neck to look into the apartment. Levi attempted to block his view but the teen slipped through before he could. "Hi, I'm Eren. Are you Levi's girlfriend?" He looked over to the frowning man. "Mikasa's gonna be so annoyed you didn't tell her." He smiled at Petra. "That's his cousin by the way, and my girlfriend. How'd you manage to get someone so cute, Levi?"

Levi grabbed the back of Eren's shirt. "That's enough now. Don't you have to get back to work?"

"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "Bye Levi's girlfriend."

"Don't tell Mikasa."

The door had already shut by then.

"Sorry about that idiot," he placed the box on the countertop.

"It's okay, he seemed nice," she smiled for the first time.

And that made Levi feel like an asshole for what he was about to say. "Do you have money? To stay at a hotel or something?" The smile fell and was replaced by anxiousness as she shook her head, visibly upset, making him feel like a total dick. "Why don't you stay then? I mean, just for the night."

"Really?"

"I'm not a heartless jerk, kicking you out when you've no money or people to help you."

"Thank you."

Something occurred to him. "Can I see the papers again?" She handed him the documents. Pausing momentarily, he pulled out a plate, a glass, and a bottle of soda. "Here, help your self." Without waiting for her response, he went over to the couch, opening his laptop and typing furiously.

 _Her bags felt like they were full of clothes._ It felt way too detailed and complex if she was just going to rob him. And he'd seen her face too. Still, there was a possibility she was a con artist. Marriages were a public matter, for someone with his background in computers as well as the info from the marriage certificate, it wouldn't take much to find out if—

And it was real. _Holy fuck. How's this possible?_ He knew he didn't buy her. Quickly, he opened new tabs to check his bank accounts. _What?_ He clicked to see the details because the amount looked very much less than what it should be. Levi mentally cursed himself. He'd gotten lazy, only keeping up with his checking and savings accounts where his checks went. But he hadn't bothered to check an account he'd deemed emergency only and decided to never touch unless absolutely necessary.

There were multiple withdrawals, totaling around $8,000, leaving a little more than $2,000 behind.

Levi was beyond confused. He was 100% confident he didn't spend that money. The only other option he could think didn't make any sense. _If someone had the skills to hack me, why not take the money?_ The more he learned, the more his confusion grew. _Who the hell hacks people and sets them up with mail order brides?_ Was it some kind of joke?

With one last irritated look, he closed his laptop. There was nothing to be done now. The banks were closed. He'd have to wait till the morning to properly deal with the situation. Too absorbed in his anger-fueled thoughts, it wasn't until she turned on the tap did he remember he wasn't alone. Levi grabbed a slice and occupied her recently vacated seat at the countertop, chewing half-heartedly and staring at the back of her head. She was as much a victim in this as he was.

"You didn't have to wash them."

"You're already so kind to me, I didn't want to be more of a burden."

Levi dropped the half eaten slice and wiped the grease off with a paper towel. "C'mon, I'll show you to the guest room. The light switch is to your right. It's not much," he dropped her luggage by the bed.

"No, this is—I'm very grateful. If you...I..." Her voice wavered.

 _Run_ , Levi's brain commanded, _before she starts crying_. He cleared his throat. "Don't worry about it. I'll let you rest now. You must be tired. Oh," he stopped in the doorway for a second, "bathroom's right across." She nodded and he mimicked her. "Goodnight then."

Returning to his now slightly cold pizza, he sat and wondered how he was going to deal with this mess.

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